National Anthems Tickets

Kevin Spacey's first acting role at the Old Vic will be in the UK premiere of a 1988 play by Dennis McIntyre. "I performed this play in 1989 and felt so strongly about it I have held onto the rights ever since," said the actor.

Set during the late 80s in a plush Detroit suburb, National Anthems chronicles the class clash between an affluent couple with social aspirations and the neighbour they grudgingly invite into their home. This parable of American materialism sees the action played out over real time, as tensions between the cast of three - Spacey's threatening stranger Ben, and the Reeds - inevitably intensify.

Dennis McIntyre's darkly comic play represents a personal choice for artistic director, Kevin Spacey, who will make his stage debut for The Old Vic Theatre Company in a role he first played in 1988 at Connecticut's Long Wharf Theatre.

Rising star of British theatre, David Grindley, whose recent productions include Journey's End and Abigail's Party, will direct.